Album for the Young – 43 pieces
Schumann composed this collection in just 16 days and gave it as a Christmas gift to his children.

Carnaval – 21 Pieces
Almost every piece begins with notes that correspond to the German letters a-s-c-h and relate to the musical notes of Schumann’s name.

Waldszenen (Forest Scenes) – 9 pieces
Within this collection is the piece “Vogel als Prophet (Prophetic Bird)” which is a favorite encore piece for many performers. All nine of these compositions were written in a year, from 1848 to 1849.

Albumblatter (Album Leaves) – 20 pieces
Composed throughout 1832-1845 this collection, like many, is without a program and was not composed in any specific order.  Such collections are generally called character pieces.

Bunte Blatter (Leaves of Different Colors) – 14 pieces
This collection is comprised of a variety of different pieces that Schumann at one point was said to have called “Spreu,” – meaning chaff.

Fantasiestucke (Fantasy Pieces) – 8 pieces
Considered a fusion of literary and musical ideas.  Some of the pieces contain heavy syncopation, which Schumann enjoyed putting into his music.

Kinderszenen (Scenes From Childhood) – 13 pieces
A collection of light and playful pieces including, Traumerei, one of Schumann’s most famous compositions.

People

Frederic Chopin – Composer (1810 – 1849)
One of the most well known composers, Chopin was born in Poland in 1810, and is credited with over 100 compositions of various styles.

Maria Sklodowska-Curie – Scientist (1867 – 1934)
Thought to be one of the greatest scientist of her time, Maria was awarded 2 different Nobel Prizes for her work in physics and chemistry.

Jan Karski – Diplomat (1914 – 2000)
A member of the Underground Polish Army during World War II, Karski spent much time seeking help from the western countries, including the USA, even meeting with President Roosevelt.

Pope John Paul II – Pope (1920 – 2005)
Ordained as Pope in 1978, Pope John Paul served until his death in 2005.  A total of almost 27 years, one of the longest periods of service in the history of the Catholic Church.

Events

966 – Then Prince Mieszko adopted Christianity.
1476 – Poland is plagued by grasshoppers and widespread famine.
1500-1600 – Considered the “Golden Age” of Poland & Lithuania when political stability, prosperity, and cultural achievement reached their peak.
1939 – Invaded by German forces as World War II began.

Places

Treblinka – A Nazi death camp during WWII, now occupied by a monument to it’s history.

Palace on the Water – Originally built as a private bathing house, in 1764 King Stanislas Poniatowski began remodeling it into the “Palace” it is now known as.  It is surrounded by a beautiful park called Lazienki, (Lazienki means ‘the baths’).

Poland

Throughout the years Poland has been repeatedly divided by other countries into their own land, as well as occupied by foreign armies.  Each time, Poland has fought back and, in time, regained its borders for itself.  Since being occupied in WWII by Germany, Poland has worked to put itself back together and move forward into the 21^st century.

Poland is located in Europe.  The northern border is along the Baltic Sea, and in the west Poland is connected with Germany and the Czech Republic, in the south Slovakia, and on the eastern side, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia.

Governed by a democratic republic, Poland is in some ways much like the U.S. in its rules of government.  Each president is elected for 5 years and is allowed two terms in office.  The Senate or Senat are elected for four years, by a majority vote on a provincial basis.  The Sejm, a lower house, are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms.

Poland continues to build and better itself to keep its own up and coming generation at home.

Although his mother taught piano, Chopin was first instructed by his older sister, Ludwika. He began taking from his first professional tutor, Wojciech Żywny, at the age of 7 but quickly surpassed his teacher’s abilities. It was also at age 7 that Chopin wrote his first compositions: Polonaises in G minor and B-flat major. Throughout his life he composed 15 other Polonaises, one with orchestra accompaniment, and one for cello with accompanying piano.

Chopin moved to Paris in September 1831, and began lessons in an attempt to gain entrance and notice within the musical society. During his time in Paris Chopin taught many students as well as performing in various capacities.

For most of his life Chopin was ill and sickly, struggling with tuberculosis. He died at age 39 in Paris from the disease. Frederic Chopin wrote an astonishing number of songs, more than 50 mazurkas alone, considering the short time he lived.

Prelude

The definition of a Prelude is: “An introductory section or movement.”  However, during the Romantic era it could also be, “A non-descriptive title used by Chopin and others for instrumental solo music, usually piano.”

Chopin composed many preludes, the most famous probably being his 24 Preludes which are in the 24 different keys and each convey a different idea or emotion.

Etude

Etude is a French word meaning “study,” thus the style of an Etude is as a piece to strengthen and enhance your playing skills in some technical capacity.  An Etude is generally a more difficult piece to master because of the fact that it is written to challenge the correctness of your playing style.

An Etude is; “A study, usually focusing on a single technical problem.”

Waltz

Waltzes written for the piano usually consist of flowery melodic passages in the right hand, accompanied by left-hand chords, and are composed in ¾ time.

First introduced in the late 17^th century as a new dance, it was often considered indecent by those in the upper classes due to the closeness of the “closed” position of the dance steps, the “open” position was not considered as improper.  It was not until 1825 or later, though, that those in Britain’s upper class accepted the dance.

Polonaise

Originally used as carnival dances, the Polonaise is a lively, festive dance in triple meter.  Chopin is one of the most well known composers of the songs.  His later compositions of Polonaises developed a more somber tone.  And this style of the song became very popular in other countries’ classical music.

Nocturne

Most Nocturnes (Night pieces) are thought to be evocative of the night, or night sounds, with a lyrical melody over a broken-chord accompaniment.  One of the more famous composers of Nocturnes was Chopin who wrote 21 of the style.  Bartok, in a movement entitled “The Night’s Music,” imitated the sounds of the night, with croaking and twittering.  Many other composers also wrote Nocturnes, the songs often lyrical, tranquil and sometimes slightly gloomy or haunting.

Mazurka

Although the Mazurka is best represented by Chopin for his amazing 58 Mazurkas, many of the surrounding countries also had Mazurkas or songs of similar origin.

A Polish folk dance in triple meter, the Mazurka is always found to have a triplet, trill, dotted eighth note pair, or an ordinary eighth note pair before two quarter notes.